


Josiah Drew What Did You do?

by Rose_Kard



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: F/M, Joey Drew Studios, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Injuries, Minor Original Character(s), Minor Violence, Multi, One-Sided Attraction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2019-11-19 14:46:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18137123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_Kard/pseuds/Rose_Kard
Summary: Joey Drew,as we know, owned Joey Drew Studios. Well, why don't we take a look at the rest of his life, before Henry became trapped in that stupid loop. We will see what happened to him, leading him to make the choices he made; both good and bad.





	1. Prologue: The studio begins

.  
.

It was August 20, 1929. The leaves were changing from green and beginning to turn red, yellow, and orange. Outside a old beat up building stood a man. His long black hair tied back with a blood Red Ribbon. His hair settled right on his shoulders, and a chunk of it loose in his face. His eyes were a beautiful hazel color, shining in the sunset. From his point of view everything was just bouts of color, but he didn’t mind. Not wearing his glasses was something he did often. He could survive without them when other people are around. It didn’t help his self confidence.  
. . There were splatters of black and white paint on his face as he looked over the poor paint job. It would do for now. He tied the freshly painted sign to the poles he had set in the ground and went inside. His studio was small, and he didn’t have much to work with, but he had it. He finally had his own place. He named it ‘Joey Drew Studios’  
. . The man walked through the small building till he reached his office. Josiah Drew, he was definitely not rich. This man barely had enough money to eat daily, he didn’t even have a bed! He was happy though, he had his freedom and was going to live his dream.  
. . He reached into the cabinet and pulled out his glasses. He had a lot of work to do. A little devil darling. He named him Bendy, it was simple. The character ran around pulled a laugh or two and laughed his heart out at the end after slipping on a banana peel.  
. . He worked late into the night on this first cartoon, and for many days after that. A few weeks later the reel was done, he could get his cartoon into theaters. The theater nearby was small but the owner said he would help jump start him. It went in on the next monday. He made a sign, ‘Bendy in the Dancing Demon’. It was a hit.  
It wasn’t quite as big as disney by a long shot, but people saw it. The short cartoon gave him enough money to keep going, and have food. He got his next animation out about a month later, a new poster was made. More people saw it. He bought himself a mattress. Now it was December, A man came in and wanted to play his cartoons in his theaters, he accepted.  
. . December 20th, 1929 during the Stock market crash. A man wandered into his studio, he wasn’t tall at all, probably no taller than 5.5, about a half a foot shorter than Josiah. He was short and skinny, dark circles rimmed his brown eyes. His hair was a dirty blond, a wavy curl though much shorter than his own. His shirt was slightly dirtied and wrinkled, but it was obvious that he tried to look presentable.  
. . The man looked and him and smiled a tired smile “My name is Harrison Stein, I was wondering if you needed another animator. I lost my job a few months ago and have almost lost my house.” Joey looked at him kindly “Josiah Drew. If I could see your art skills it would be much appreciated.” Henry nodded as Josiah handed him paper, a pen, and a jar of ink. His drawing was perfect.  
. . “I’ll send you a letter as soon as I can get another desk and more supplies in.” Harrison’s eyes lit up “Thank you, Sir. Also people call me Henry, Harrison is a bit long.” Josiah nodded “Well then, Henry, I’ll see you soon.” The shorter man nodded and waved as he ran out. Joey pulled out his audio tape, whenever he felt like talking to someone he would talk to it.  
. . “Well, its right before Christmas, a man named Harrison Stein, or Henry for short, came in today asking for a job. I gave him one, the man obviously needs it. Granted I’ll have to cut what I eat in about half so that I can pay him, but the animations will come out sooner. As they always say two heads are better than one. I suppose I just need to keep believing!” He set his tape down before laying on his matress and falling asleep. He had a lot to do the next day.


	2. Harrison Stein

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get a look into Henry and his life.

-Harrison Stein was 20 years old when the great depression hit. He hadn’t spent lavishly, actually quite the opposite. This man spent as little as possible, and often went to thrift shops for new clothing. He had a good chunk of money saved up, and for good reason, He wanted to propose. His girlfriend of 6 years, Linda, was a lovely lady. Kind, Generous, beautiful and smart, she had it all, and she had fallen in love with him.

-When the stock market crash came, he lost his job. His savings quickly drained. He sold his car, as there wasn’t enough gas anymore. He started eating only breakfast and dinner, that soon became only dinner, and later merely a snack. He had almost lost his house and nobody was hiring. He wandered the streets during the day, hoping to find any sort of work. He ran across the newly popular ‘Joey Drew Studio’ and hoped that the owner could use a hand. 

-He walked into the small studio finding the door to a small room on his right labeled simply ‘office’. He knocked on the door. A man about half a foot taller than him walked out, no older than his early 20’s. He had long black hair mostly tied into a ponytail with a blood red ribbon, a chunk of hair dangled in front of his face, brushing against the man’s glasses. The black haired man was very thin, most likely he didn’t eat enough either. 

-“Um, Hello, may I help you?” Harrison jumped back into reality “My name is Harrison Stein, I was wondering if you needed another animator. I lost my job a few months ago and have almost lost my house.” The man with black hair nodded “Josiah Drew. If I could see your art skills it would be much appreciated.” He quickly nodded as he was handed a sheet of paper, a pen, and a jar of ink. He quickly got to work.

-Josiah watched in awe as Harrison drew. The drawing almost identical to his own. He pulled down his glasses amazed at the man standing before him. “I’ll send you a letter as soon as I can get another desk and more supplies in.” In another way of speaking Harrison had a job. 

-He lit up like a firefly blissfully ignorant to the amount of food the man would have to cut to hire him. “Thank you, Sir! Also people call me Henry, Harrison is a bit long.” The older man smiled “Well then, Henry, I’ll see you soon!” The man bounced out not seeing the other man’s smile disappear. 

-He raced to see his girlfriend “Linda! Linda!” His girlfriend turned to look at him “What is it Henry?” He picked her up and spun her around “I found a job! I got a job! Joey Drew Studios.” Her eyes turned into stars with that “Oh Henry, that's wonderful!” The two would dance and jump around for hours, Joy filling their hearts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I forgot to say that I won't have an uploading schedule, its sorta gonna be whenever I have something I'm completely done with. Thanks again for reading I hope you are enjoying it!  
> -Rose


	3. A Work Schedule is set (Also Joey needs to ask for help)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry starts his new job at JDS. Joey needs to learn to ask for help when he needs it.

January of 1930 Henry started his job as an animator. Joey had rearranged the studio taking out the wall to the room he labeled office and gave henry his old desk Putting the new one on the other side of the room. The bed was hidden behind Joey’s new desk out of sight, and a small wooden cabinet was against the opposite wall. 

Henry looked around the small room in awe “It’s not much but I did make a few changes. I took out the wall, this will give us a bit more room if we need to get more things later on. I gave you my old desk, it was sorta small for me so it should fit you right, the new desk I got is taller which will work better for me. In the top cabinet is paper and pens, the second drawer is the film reels, and the last drawer is ink.”

The two men then discussed story board Ideas for the next short. ‘Bendy in Mucky Clucky’. Bendy would find a little chick stuck in the mud, help it out, clean it up and say goodbye as it walked away with its family. They got the finished animation out in 2 weeks, along with music and sound effects on record. 

The men decided to work Monday - Friday from 8-4. It would give Henry time for his personal life and get him home before it got cold. Though there wasn’t much money in people’s pockets at the time,   
Bendy was a big hit. It got people away from the hardships of their life and gave them that extra bit of joy.

Joey created a bank account and slowly put the extra money from the studio in there. The less he put in at a time the less he would be taxed. The men were doing well in the dying economy. The cartoons were coming out every one to two weeks. Henry helped Joey with how the music sounded and helped him wrap his hand when he sliced it on the projector. 

That was definitely a day to remember. Joey didn’t want Henry to have to worry about it and so he attempted to get the first aid kit from the cabinet in the projector room on his own, without his glasses. In the process he had it fall on him, causing both a crash and a loud “CRAP!” to ring through the building. Henry jumped up from his desk and ran in to find Joey, back against the ground and the cabinet on top of him, as well as a large cut going from the center of his left hand down halfway through his lower arm. And the blood was not pretty “Oh my God, Joey!” 

Henry quickly ran and picked up the cabinet, holding in on his back, while pushing Joey over so if it fell again it wouldn’t hit him. The dirty blond put the cabinet back upright before rushing to check on Joey. “Joey what happened?” The man on the ground sighed “I was trying not to bug you. I cut myself on the projector and tried to get the first aid kit and you can see how that turned out.” Henry carefully helped him against the wall and grabbed the kit.

“Joey, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Had I not been here, what if you had died?” Josiah looked away, clearly ashamed at his decision. “I’m sorry Henry, probably should have been wearing my glasses as well.” Henry finished wrapping his hand and pulled him into a hug. “Just ask for help, please.” Joey nodded and returned the hug. 

They quickly cleaned up the mess and returned to their desks to continue with the episode. Most of the animation was done, but the music was still incomplete. Joey began humming the tune as he was writing. “Hey Henry, whatcha think.” The sound of purposeful humming filled the air as the song was heard. “I love it!” Henry exclaimed. “Let’s record it as soon as possible.” 

The next day they began recording. Henry played the piano, while Joey played the violin. The next round had Henry on the banjo and Joey on the cello. The final round had Harrison on the drum had Josiah on the bass. It took the whole day to get it perfect but they did it, and they were happy with the results.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! If there are any grammatical errors let me know!  
> -Rose


	4. Emotions and Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey remembers his past and gets a bit of needed help  
> (warning character death, alcoholism and abuse)

Henry went home and Josiah sat on his matress pondering. He looked at the bandages wrapped around his hand and arm. His chest felt warm, which confused him, he ran out of firewood today. He should be cold, freezing actually. So why did he feel like he was burning, and only his chest. It was snowing outside, that should fix it.  
He grabbed his coat, scarf, and hat and wandered out into the snow for a walk. Nobody was out at this time and he hopped no one would call the police saying that he was a maniac. He needed to think, and he couldn’t do it in there.   
The snow brushed against his face softly, reminding him of his childhood. A time he so desperately wanted to forget. Of course there were some good memories, but far too many of them were awful, terrifying actually. He still had nightmares from time to time. 

(Flashback)  
“Josiah, where are you?” a ten year old boy ran around the hallway to greet his mother “I’m right here Mama.” She scooped him into her arms. “Were doing something special today! Can you guess what?” Joey shook his head “Were going to go to the snow. Your Papa said we could do whatever we wanted, and I did promise you a trip as soon as we could go!” The little boy’s eyes widened and a huge grin plastered his face.  
A train ride later the two were at a mountain. Plenty of snow covered the ground and there weren't many people around. The two began making snowmen and snow angels, they had a snowball fight and sled down the hill at a terrifying speed to anyone nearby.  
As the two hopped back on the train, they both held a picture. Them smiling covered in snowflakes. “Now remember Josiah, we have to hide these. You know Papa hates when we get stuff.” The boy nodded “Alright Mama, I’ll put mine in my history book. You could put your in your cooking book!” She laughed “That's a good idea, maybe I will.”

(Flashback end)  
That had been years ago. Probably one of the best days of his childhood. His mother was the kindest woman he had ever known. His father on the other hand was not someone he wanted to remember. He was abusive, and destroyed his family, he wished that man was dead. Everything had been amazing until Joey got sick.

(Flashback)  
He was five. He couldn’t eat and could barely drink. The family didn’t have much money but called the doctor anyways. The medicine was pricey. His father didn’t take it well at all.   
His father would yell at his mother for hours, often getting mad if anything wasn’t right. He didn’t want to be sick, he couldn’t help it. The older man became angrier and angrier as time went by, and started yelling at the now six year old. Often times the only thing he would say was “I’m sorry, Papa.”   
It was then that he found his passion for drawing. He had a lot of time in bed and wasn’t very good at reading, as his family didn’t yet know about his needing glasses. He could draw simple things and soon became more complex, it was hard with everything being blurry but he managed.   
He sold his art through his window, his neighbor helped him get the exchange done since he couldn’t very well leave the house. Every night that he had more money he would fight sleep until his parents had gone to bed, sneaking to his father’s wallet and his mother’s purse. Most of it was given to his father but he was able to give a little to his Mama.  
His mother didn’t say anything but he knew that she knew what he did, his father on the other hand just said he had gotten a little extra money at work. He didn’t mind as long as he could help. By the time he was 8 he was healthy again, the only difference now, his father had become abusive. Most of the time verbal, but every now and then physically.   
Josiah would still sell his art in secret, the money carefully hidden away. His father would lose his temper more and more often. By the time joey was 17 his father had become an alcoholic. In one of his drunk and mad moments pulled out a knife. Joey quickly ran to protect his mother, but was thrown against the wall. His arm was broken and a few places.   
He yelled at his father to stop as he attempted to get back up, he was too late. Josiah watched in horror as his mother was thrown onto the ground, held down by his fathers foot. In the man’s eyes was red, bright red. He watched, helpless as the knife was plunged down into his mother’s chest, not even registering the scream that tore from his throat “MAMA!”  
Joey ran and threw his father onto the ground, knocking him unconscious, the knife still in the man's hand. Falling at his mother’s side tears began to pour down his face “No, Mama, please! Don’t *hic* leave me *hic* please.” Clara Drew slowly lifted her hand up to her son’s face, carefully wiping his tears. “I love you Joey. Please, live an amazing life for me. I believe in you, my darling baby boy.”   
Clara’s hand fell from his face and her shaking breathing ceased. Josiah’s eyes widened “Mama?” Realization dawned on him as the life faded from her eyes “Mama?! MAMA!” At some point that night police came and found the scene. It was quite obvious what had happened.  
The authorities tried to take him into child protective services, he ran away after testifying for his father to be imprisoned for his mother’s murder.   
He took everything he could, his favorite books, sketchbooks, any money in the house, and pictures. He took the first train he could. That is how he ended up in New York City, opening an animation studio, and finding Henry.

(Flashback end)   
He didn’t realize how long he had been out until he saw the street lights being turned out. He had been outside all night! No wonder he felt a bit cold. He quickly ran back to the studio and began working, with no sleep, he accidently left the mattress out. He was working on some music ideas for the next episode when Henry walked in.  
“Joey?” at the sound of his name he turned around. “Oh um, hi *Yawn* hi Henry. Oh shoot i forgot to pick that up, just let me” He stumbled out of his chair, the lack of sleep obvious. He clumsily walked over towards Henry and tripped on a loose board on the floor. Henry raced over and caught the tall man before he could hit the ground and helped him sit on the mattress.   
“Josiah, you didn’t sleep last night did you?” A forced smile found its way to his face “What? I totally got enough sleep, I just woke up a bit early.” Henry hugged his friend “Do you want to stay at my place tonight, you sleep at the same place you work it has to be a bit stressful.” Joey sighed and nodded, in all honesty he was far too tired to argue.   
“Lets go, we can make the lack of work on saturday or something. You really need some sleep.” Henry helped Joey get back up and they walked out of the door. About a half hour later they arrived at Harrison’s house.  
The tall man was led to the bedroom, before sitting down and falling asleep instantly. Harrison sighed and removed the taller man’s coat. “Oh my God, Josiah!” He hadn’t paid attention to the fact that the man always wore a coat or something along those lines. Josiah was skinny. Henry quickly tucked him into the bed before figuring out what he could make for Joey to eat.   
A few hours later Josiah had woken up and wandered into the kitchen. “Henry? Henry, where are you?” Worry was laced in his voice. “I’m over here.” He walked into the next room over where Henry was sketching. “What happened? Where am I?” Henry moved his art stuff and motioned for Joey to sit next to him. He quickly accepted, shaking like a leaf. “First off, you’re in my house. Second you must have gotten no sleep last night, you were falling asleep while trying to write music. Also you fell on the mattress you apparently never used.”   
A small “Oh” was heard “That would explain why I don’t remember anything after I got back to the studio.” Harrison nodded “Why were you out, all night, in the middle of a snow storm?” Josiah’s head dropped “I was” A pause “Remembering things.” Henry made a motion to continue.  
“My childhood wasn’t all that good after I turned 5. I got really sick with the flu, I didn’t do much for a couple years. The medicine was expensive and my father would lose his temper. I would get paper and draw to keep myself occupied, thanks to the neighbor kid, he also helped me sell my art. I wanted to help pay for my medicine somehow. Most of the money was left for my father, but sometimes I snuck some for my mother. She knew what I was doing and told me to keep it, but she accepted it anyways, she always said that once my mind was set it couldn't be changed.”   
He shuddered before continuing “I was better sometime after I turned 7. My father on the other hand became worse mentally abusing my mother and I. When I was 17 He finally lost It and went to kill Ma, I tried to save her, I really did.” His voice was shaking and tears streamed down his face. Henry wrapped his arms around his friend gently rubbing circles into his back   
Josiah continued “He broke my arm and kicked me against the wall before throwing my mother on the ground. He had a knife. She was screaming in fear. He-He stabbed her calling her a ‘Stupid Bitch!’ and a ‘Waste of space on this earth’. I remember someone talking to me after that. Authorities took my father in, they let me see her one last time before she would be prepared for the burial. I testified against him in court.”   
Henry was mad at the man who did all this, he doesn’t even have the right to be called a father. “I was taken into child protective services, but ran away. I grabbed all the money I could find back in my house, as well as a few books, the few pictures, some of my art, cloths, and some food. That's how I ended up in NYC, The glasses are new, I thought everyone saw the world as blurry.” He chuckled through the tears before burying his head into Henry’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Henry.”   
Henry pulled him closer, “You don’t need to be sorry, that man was a monster for putting you through what he did. Don’t be sorry for something you couldn’t change.” Joey finally stopped shaking and looked up at Henry. “Thank you, I really owe you one.” He simply smiled “You don’t owe me anything, that's what friends are for. Helping each other out.”   
A light bulb went off in Josiah’s head in that moment, love. The emotion he had felt for this man. He loved Henry, but Henry wouldn’t love him. Joey knew Henry wanted to mary Linda, and it hurt, but Henry would be happy. That mattered more to him than Henry loving him back.   
After a while the two released the hug and worked on making dinner. It was simple but it would help Joey gain weight, unknown to him of course. Afterwards they sat on Harrison’s couch and looked at the stars. After a half hour Joey fall asleep on Henry’s shoulder. He decided not to move, Joey needed more sleep and moving might wake him up.   
Henry fell asleep not long later, only to be woken up by a shivering Josiah. “No...please...i didn’t…Papa...No...p-please No… P-Papa No Please… R-Run...MA’!” He woke up with a start looking around the room frantically. “Josiah?” Henry reached out to his friend and Joey fell to the ground and scrambled to the wall before covering himself with his arms “Please, I’m sorry just don’t hurt her, please.” Desperation filled his voice and tears streamed down his face  
“Joey, it's me, Henry. Harrison Stein.” Joey looked up to see Henry looking at him, worry visible on his features. “Henry!” Josiah launched himself at the shorter man, crashing them both to the ground. He clung to Henry for dear life, Henry for the second time wrapped his arms around the taller man. “Joey are you alright, I’ve never seen you more terrified.”   
Joey shook his head, not daring to loosen his grip in the slightest, fearing he might lose him too. “P-please” Josiah choked out through the tears “I’m scared, what if he comes back?” Henry was shocked, He had seen Joey prety vulnerable before but not like this. His best friend was clinging to him like a fish clings to water.  
“Don’t worry, He won’t come back. I promise. And if he does, he’ll have to go through me first. Your safe Josiah, and you always will be.” At this point Josiah had stopped shaking and the tears had stopped flowing. Leaving a tired, scared, and insecure man behind.  
“How about we make some tea and then go to sleep. You look like you need a lot of both.” Josiah nodded his confirmation. Henry made them some tea with honey, it definitely helped Joey relax. Harrison then led him to the bedroom, and sat on the bed next to him. He knew better than to leave Josiah alone at a time like this. After sitting there for about 15 minutes he fell asleep, and the two curled up together, neither letting go of the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading It ended up being really long!  
> -Rose


	5. Wallace Franks and Samuel Lawrence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dummy hires more people. That's it. i don't know what else to tell you.

A few weeks after the incident at Henry’s house, a Blizzard came through. Leaving Henry and Joey stuck in the studio. Luckily Josiah had gotten better about storing food. Josiah would often go outside to get more firewood once they ran out, and today was no different, until he saw a small man wandering through the blizzard.  
“Sir?” The man wandering didn’t hear him over the wind. “Sir!” Josiah ran through the 3 foot deep snow, over to the man, and without thinking threw him on his shoulder and raced back inside. Firewood could wait. “Joey do you need some help with the firewood or something?” Henry froze once he saw Joey wrapping his own coat around a young man. Josiah looked up at Henry before replying “Or something.”   
They got the young man in front of the fire and began getting him back to a normal temperature. “If I may ask, why were you walking around in a blizzard with nothing warm on?” The young man sighed, holding his hat in his hands “I was hoping someone would need me for a job a’ some sort. If I don’t have any rent money, my siblings and I are outta here.”  
Henry stepped up “What do you mean?” The young man sighed once again “My father left when when I was eleven. My mother got sick and passed away not much later, Polio. I was thirteen, and the oldest sibling. I’ve been picking up any job I can get money off of, the stalk market crash Is gonna kill us. I’m not complaining for myself, sirs, I just don’t want to lose my siblings to something like frostbite, and hypothermia.”   
Joey didn’t say anything for a moment before “What’s your name?” “O-oh my name is Wallace Franks, but everyone calls me Wally.” A grin broke out onto Josiah’s face before he exclaimed “Well then Mr. Franks, Welcome to Joey drew studio!” “What?!” Both the other men replied, completely shocked.  
Henry pulled Joey aside. “But the studio doesn’t have that much money yet.” Joey put a finger to the others lips “I know, but he needs the money. I don’t want kids to suffer like I did.” Henry gave up defeated, knowing that Joey would not give up. His mother really was smart.  
After a few days the blizzard died down, and the three men went outside. They were enjoying the light when they heard a voice yell “WALLACE FRANKS!” Wally froze, “Oh no, its Sammy.” A man with chestnut brown hair came running up, A cigarette in hand. He threw it on the ground in front of him and stomped on it. ”Wally your brother came running to me in a panic this morning because he was afraid that you froze to DEATH!!” Wally bowed his head “I’m sorry Uncle Sammy.”   
He sighed “It’s alright Wally, just don’t do it again. My name is Samuel Lawrence, I’m sorry for this kid. I told him and his siblings to come to me if anything happens.” Joey responded “Pshaw, He was no trouble at all, in fact he will be very helpful to my company. Joey Drew by the way.” Samuel nodded  
“C’mon Wally, we still need to look for a new conducting job for me.” Henry’s eyes widened, before looking at Joey who had a look in his eye “Joey No!” “Joey Yes!” “You’re gonna kill yourself, one of these days.”  
“I know. Mr. Lawrence, we could always use someone to help with the music. Henry and I have been doing everything ourselves and a bit of help would be much appreciated. You mentioned that you were a conductor, I would assume you know how to play a few instruments if not wright music.”  
“I-I can do both Sir, Thank you.” Samuel replied, an excited look in his eyes. Joey nodded “How about you both start on Monday, besides it would give your siblings some assurance if you came with someone they know.” Both wally and Samuel replied at the same time “Thank you!” And walked away.  
“Josiah,” Harrison started “Was that really necessary, we’ve been doing this ourselves for the past six months, I think we can do it ourselves.” Joey sighed, this was going to be harder than he thought. “I know that, and I know that I shouldn’t be hiring them on a whim like that. Thinking about it, I hired you on a whim too, and look at how that turned out. Besides they need the job, I mean, being homeless in NYC isn’t fun. I would know.” Henry sighed and walked out to go find his girlfriend. Joey had a lot to do and not enough time to do it.  
The next week Wally and Sammy started their jobs. The cartoons came out faster with Henry and Joey only having to focus on animation and making sure the music fit. Wally did a lot of clean up around the small studio, and while he did lose his keys often, they would always turn back up. Everything was working out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this was so short. I couldn't find anything to add to it, just a few minor changes. Hope you still enjoyed!  
> -Rose


	6. A broken heart and more people

About a month, and many cuts from the projector later, Joey found a man name Norman Polk, a 30 year old dark skinned man. And boy did he know how to run a projector. The projector was setup before they knew it. The one story studio was thriving like never before.   
Everyone was happy, well almost everyone. Josiah sat in a small office room, filling out paperwork. Math was never something he was good at, and after hours he moved to bills instead. Money in and out, in and out. When was the last time he ate a good meal? He couldn’t remember. Of course he ate through, if he didn’t Henry would force him to.  
It was late probably Eight O’clock when he realized that he heard pacing. He walked out no knowing what to expect when he saw Henry. “Henry? What are you doing here so late, you should be at home resting.” The man in question turned around. “Josiah! I’m so sorry I didn’t realize you were still here. I just needed to get away and think and so I figured I’d work more on the next cartoon, but I couldn’t focus.”   
“I’m not mad Henry, why don’t we just talk through what's bugging you.” Henry nodded and they went back to Joey’s office. Joey pulled out the mattress and invited him to sit on it. “It’s much more comfortable than the chairs.” They both sat down before Joey began. “What's eating you up Henry?” Henry sighed “I want to propose to Linda, but I’m afraid that she might say no.” Joey felt tears prick at his eyes and forced them back “Why do you think she would ever say no?”  
“I don’t know it just, I don’t want to make her feel pressured. I was thinking of making dinner and inviting her over on Saturday night. Is that too suspicious, is it weird?” Joey forced the most genuine smile he could muster onto his face. “I think she will love it, I know she loves you, and you love her. That's what matters, right?” Henry nodded as he began to nod off.   
Joey gently laid him down onto the bed, taking off his own brightly colored coat and laying it on him. He bent down to the sleeping man and layed a gentle kiss on Henry’s head “As long as you’re happy Harrison, as long as you’re happy.” A tear rolled down his cheek as he went back to his paperwork.  
(Timeskip to about a month later) 

Ok he definitely pissed Henry off this time, he probably should have said something before he went and hired an orchestra to play the songs for them. He also probably should have asked about hiring Susie Campbell. It was easy to get her to work there anyways, he tried to not think about Henry but couldn’t help it. A gaping hole filled his heart, he thought he could love her but it just didn’t happen.  
Harrison was engaged now and was spending less and less time in the studio to prepare for his big day. Joey was asked to be his best man, which of course he accepted. Which led to more problems; sleepless nights, breaking down into tears, and becoming somewhat emotionless.   
The wedding day finally came and Josiah was finishing helping Harrison get ready. He finished tying the tie and wrapped Harrison into the best hug he had ever given. “Henry, you have been with me when I needed you the most. Promise me that wherever life takes you with her that I will never lose my best friend.” Henry returned the hug “I’ll never lose you Josiah, I couldn’t do that to you.”   
Josiah then stood strong through the pain of the day, till finally it was time for him to give his speech “Hello, friends and family of Harrison and Linda. My name is Josiah Drew, more commonly known as Joey Drew. I met Henry about 2 years ago. I had just opened up Joey Drew Studios and Henry wandered in looking for a job. I hired him on the spot. Since then we have become best of friends. He helped me through my sleepless nights when I would panic over something that i didn’t need to worry about. He would even find me in the middle of a flashback from my childhood, and a few times nightmares.   
Waking up in a panic, scrambling away from him in fear. He has sat with me through it all. I am very happy with the woman he has chosen to love. Linda, take care of him, for as long as you both shall live. I don’t know what the future may bring, but as long as you’re happy Henry, I’m happy. Thank you.” Henry and linda both ran up to him and pulled him into a group hug.   
As Josiah left the wedding, he knew that a hole filled his heart, and that gaping hole would not go away anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I am so sorry I didn't get this out sooner, I got distracted and forgot to put this up!  
> -Rose


	7. Mending a broken heart

When Josiah opened the door to the studio the next morning the last thing he expected was to find a baby wrapped in a blanket on the steps. He quickly picked the sleeping child up and looked around frantically for anyone who could be a parent. There was no one around.   
He knew it wasn’t his child, as he had never slept with anyone and he had never gotten drunk. A glass of wine on occasion but never drunk. He brought the child inside knowing that he would be taking it in. There was only one issue.  
He didn’t know anything about parenting or being a father or anything about children at all!!!!  
Finally he heard two pairs of feet walking, Wally and Sammy. “Mr. Lawrence, Mr. Franks, I need your help!” Wally was the first to pipe in “What do ya need, I’m pretty sure there isn’t much to do today, just some proofreading and dustin’” Joey sighed “Not that type of help Wally, I found a child on the step this morning. And before you ask, no I never slept with anyone.”   
Wally and Sammy both let out a sigh of relief. Joey continued “I know nothing about children, I don’t know anything about being a father. Mine killed my mother, I don’t want to become something like that!” He held the child closely with his right hand, his left in his hair.   
Sammy carefully pulled the child from Joey’s arms, “Joey, you’re gonna need to calm down. If i’m going to help you, you need to be able to think.” Wally on the other hand did the first thing he could think of, and wrapped Joey into a big ol’ hug. “It typically helps my siblings when their going into a panic attack. I figured it would help you too.” Joey slowly wrapped his arms around Wally carefully. Wally noticed the mans shivering and hugged him tighter. “It’s gonna be ok Mr. Drew, We’ll help ya with this.”   
After the hug was finished Sammy popped back in “Ok so you obviously plan on keeping the kid, first thing is we need to get you officially signed as her parent.” And after a lot of paperwork Josiah Drew was a father. The lady at the desk spoke up “Ok Mr. Drew, there is one more thing. What is her name.” Joey thought for a moment. He had the perfect name, even if his mother wasn’t here she would always watch over them. “Clara, her name is Clara Anne Drew.”  
The four walked out with a batch of papers. “Ok Mista’ Drew. Next thing ya’ gonna need is food, bedding, clothes, and toys.” Joey looked shocked at how much this would require, but was very muchly still willing.   
By the time they got back to the studio they found Norman looking around puzzled. “Mister Drew. I expected Henry to be gone but I didn’t expect to find nobody here.” Joey sighed, for the millionth time that day. “I’m terribly sorry Mr. Polk, I found a child on the steps.” Norman’s eyes widened “Also no, I didn’t sleep with anyone.” Norman calmed down after hearing that. Sammy spoke up “We were gone all day because Joey here doesn’t know anything about children, also he had to adopt her.”   
Norman was slightly confused still but shrugged it off. “Alright then, I’m assuming that you need some help getting things set up. I mean you live here after all.” Josiah nodded before looking at the little girl in his arms and whispering “Ma would love you Clara. No matter what, I won’t be like my father I promise. I wouldn’t do that to you.”   
Sammy and Norman got to work on making the crib, highchair, and putting some of the toys together. As well as baby proofing the room. Wally on the other hand sat down with Joey and taught him how to take care of a baby. The proper way to feed and burp a baby, and how to change her diaper(For those who don’t know, they didn’t have those 1 time use diapers. They were made of cloth and you had to wash them.)  
By then end of the day everything was set up. “But what if something happens? What if, what if…” Wally put a hand on Joey’s shoulder “Joey don’t worry about it ya’ got this down.” Sammy stepped over to him “I’ll stay with you Joey, Wally was going to but he has his siblings to take care of. Besides I don’t have anything to do.” A tired smile Crept onto Josiah’s face “Thank you Mr. Lawrence.” “Sammy, please, I don’t feel right with you calling me by a formal title like that.”   
“Alright. Thank you all for your help. I am very glad that we told the orchestra to take the day off since it would have just been writing.” He chuckled “I’ll work on that tonight.” Josiah looked at Samuel with a look of shock “But You’re already staying overtime, I can work on it. Just do some editing in the morning.” Sammy sighed “Joey I work on the music a lot at home, I work better at night anyways. Besides, you got to worry about little Clara.”   
Josiah looked over to the crib with the sleeping baby. He was far too tired to argue “Alright, I suppose you’re right.” The two men said their goodbyes to the others and went to work. Two hats hung on the rack. Josiah’s Top hat, and Sammy’s hat. After probably an hour of working Sammy looked over to see Joey completely out.   
Samuel pulled out the mattress and laid it next to the crib in the corner. He carefully pulled the brightly colored coat off the tall man hanging it, too, onto the rack. Picking his up he was shocked, more shocked than Henry. He weighed no more that 80 pounds. He figured that he was well finished, at least that’s what the coat made it look like. Sammy laid him on the mattress, took off the mans tie, and rested the jacket on his sleeping form. He had known the man had issues, he didn’t know how he could solve this. If Henry hadn’t then what could he do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> -Rose


	8. A Friend and an Uncle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry comes back to the studio after his honeymoon to find a little surprise waiting for him

Henry walked into the studio, hearing something completely unexpected, a baby’s cries. He found a baby sitting on the floor crying outside of Joey’s office. He was about to call out to see who’s it is when Josiah came running in. “Oh My God, Clara! How did you get out here darling.” Josiah looked up to see Harrison looking down at him in confusion “Henry, your back!”   
Henry just pointed at the baby in his arms in confusion. Joey looked at his with a deadpan look “No I didn’t sleep with anyone. I found her on the steps the day after you were married.” Henry nodded his understanding “What's her name?” Joey smiled slightly sadly. “Clara, Clara Drew.” Henry smiled “You named her after your mother. Its beautiful Josiah.”   
“Hi, Clara. I’m Henry Stein. I’ve known your dad for the past couple years.” Joey smiled kindly at his daughter “Yes, your Uncle Henry is my best friend. He just got married, so you will have to meet your Aunty Linda soon!” Clara smiled and giggled. “You want to hang out with Uncle Wally? I’m sure he’d be happy to care for you for a few minutes while i talk to Uncle Henry.”  
Wally just so happened to be walking by at that exact moment, and carefully took the child from Joey and walked away. As soon as the child was gone and the two men walked into the office Josiah wrapped Harrison in a hug. “I missed you soooo much.” Henry returned the hug “I missed you too. I’m glad to be back. Also I can’t believe you adopted a kid. Granted you did it on a whim but I’m still happy for you.”   
They released the hug “Yeah, but I couldn’t turn her down.” The two continued talking about what Henry had missed in his two weeks of absence when Joey stopped and leaned against the wall. “Josiah, what's wrong?” Josiah just thought for a moment before replying “Hm, my leg went numb. Weird.” He shrugged it off and kept walking. The underlying problem wouldn’t truly affect him for another fifteen years.  
(Timeskip again, I’m out of ideas)  
Over the next year, many things happened. Henry and Linda had their first child, a boy who they named Robert Stein. Clara grew bigger and cuter by the day, as well as beginning to talk. Sammy opened his heart more and became much more like an uncle than a stranger.  
Joey expanded the studio more, gaining more workers and expanding the building. He added a story on top for his own house, out of his own savings of course. Afterwards he added a downstairs for the orchestra and Samuel.  
He hired a man to help with anything that was broken in the studio, Thomas Conner. He had fought in World War 1 and lost his left arm. He was a strong man and could fix anything he put his mind to. Though maybe not people, don’t really want to know if he can or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, my apologies for not getting this chapter out sooner. Sorry its so short!  
> -Rose

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading my very first fan fiction. This story is by no means completed yet, so stay tooned as I plan to have more out soon!  
> -Rose Kard
> 
> (and yes that was a pun)


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